Work:
This story takes place in Siberia in a Russian Labor Camp; so naturally, labor and work are prime topics in the book. There are two main types of work in the camps. The first is work that the guards force them to do, while the second is work they do on their own free will to gain favor among the guards. Some jobs the prisoners performed to earn favor with the guards or extra food included; retrieving a guards valenki, so he would not have to get the on his own in his bare feet, sweeping, retrieving items, collecting bowls and giving them to the dishwashers in the mess hall, or the most hated form of gaining favor, squealing on others. (4) There were many jobs in the camps, including, cooks, painters, doctors, and simple laborers. Ivan was part of the 104th, a group that was to be sent out to build a new settlement. It was called the “Socialist Way of Life” settlement. His squad would have to construct buildings from nothing, meaning that they would have nowhere to escape from the harsh Siberian winter. (5) Authority:
Authority among prisoners and guards is a major factor in the lives of the men living in the camps, including Ivan Denisovich. The morning the book starts on, Ivan is not feeling well and decided to remain in bed for a while longer because he thinks that a lenient guard is in charge. He is wrong and this small infraction nearly has him locked in the guardhouse. In the camps, there are guards who think they are above everyone else and enjoy instilling fear and pain upon those beneath him. There are also those who are more lenient and understanding. The prisoners quickly learn to avoid the ruthless authority figures at all costs and when that is not possible, to follow the rules to the letter of the law. This can be seen when Ivan avoids The Tartar after breakfast, on his way to the dispensary. If he had not, he would have had to follow one of the camps outrageous rules of removing your hat five paces before a guard and replacing two paces after passing the guard. Some guards took this rule very seriously, punishing those who did not comply; others, in contrast, did not care if you followed the rule or not. (15-16) Another main authority figure in this first section is the security chief of the camp, Lieutenant Volkvoi. Ivan describes him as a wolf both in his acts as well as in his physical features. His name also means wolf in Russian. He is one of the leaders who expect to be followed without question or hesitation. In his earlier years, he would carry a whip around to surprise unsuspecting prisoners. He sentenced a man to ten days in the guardhouse for speaking his mind. Another display of the authority he held over the other men in the camp is seen in the lesser guards’ reactions when he arrives. He arrives as the squads are going out to work. The prisoners are being frisked to ensure that they have no weapons. The guards who are checking them become very meticulous when the security chief arrives. (26-28) Survival:
The story, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, takes place in a labor camp where prisoners work every day and depend only on themselves for survival. The conditions are harsh in the camps and the work is not easy either. The prisoners cannot be brash and free thinking, as Buinovsky was in the story. Ivan has survived for many years in the camp because he relies on himself and has learned when to work hard and when to slack off in order to survive. He still heeds the advice of his first squad leader, Kuziomin, who said,
“Here, men, we live by the law of the taiga. But even here people manage to live. The ones that don’t make it are those who lick other men’s leftovers, those who count on the doctors to pull them through, and those who squeal on their buddies.”-page 4
This advice along with Ivan’s own persistence is the reason he survived so long and succeeded where others failed.
Works Consulted: Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. New York City: Signet Classic, 1963.
Work:
This story takes place in Siberia in a Russian Labor Camp; so naturally, labor and work are prime topics in the book. There are two main types of work in the camps. The first is work that the guards force them to do, while the second is work they do on their own free will to gain favor among the guards. Some jobs the prisoners performed to earn favor with the guards or extra food included; retrieving a guards valenki, so he would not have to get the on his own in his bare feet, sweeping, retrieving items, collecting bowls and giving them to the dishwashers in the mess hall, or the most hated form of gaining favor, squealing on others. (4) There were many jobs in the camps, including, cooks, painters, doctors, and simple laborers. Ivan was part of the 104th, a group that was to be sent out to build a new settlement. It was called the “Socialist Way of Life” settlement. His squad would have to construct buildings from nothing, meaning that they would have nowhere to escape from the harsh Siberian winter. (5)
Authority:
Authority among prisoners and guards is a major factor in the lives of the men living in the camps, including Ivan Denisovich. The morning the book starts on, Ivan is not feeling well and decided to remain in bed for a while longer because he thinks that a lenient guard is in charge. He is wrong and this small infraction nearly has him locked in the guardhouse. In the camps, there are guards who think they are above everyone else and enjoy instilling fear and pain upon those beneath him. There are also those who are more lenient and understanding. The prisoners quickly learn to avoid the ruthless authority figures at all costs and when that is not possible, to follow the rules to the letter of the law. This can be seen when Ivan avoids The Tartar after breakfast, on his way to the dispensary. If he had not, he would have had to follow one of the camps outrageous rules of removing your hat five paces before a guard and replacing two paces after passing the guard. Some guards took this rule very seriously, punishing those who did not comply; others, in contrast, did not care if you followed the rule or not. (15-16) Another main authority figure in this first section is the security chief of the camp, Lieutenant Volkvoi. Ivan describes him as a wolf both in his acts as well as in his physical features. His name also means wolf in Russian. He is one of the leaders who expect to be followed without question or hesitation. In his earlier years, he would carry a whip around to surprise unsuspecting prisoners. He sentenced a man to ten days in the guardhouse for speaking his mind. Another display of the authority he held over the other men in the camp is seen in the lesser guards’ reactions when he arrives. He arrives as the squads are going out to work. The prisoners are being frisked to ensure that they have no weapons. The guards who are checking them become very meticulous when the security chief arrives. (26-28)
Survival:
The story, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, takes place in a labor camp where prisoners work every day and depend only on themselves for survival. The conditions are harsh in the camps and the work is not easy either. The prisoners cannot be brash and free thinking, as Buinovsky was in the story. Ivan has survived for many years in the camp because he relies on himself and has learned when to work hard and when to slack off in order to survive. He still heeds the advice of his first squad leader, Kuziomin, who said,
“Here, men, we live by the law of the taiga. But even here people manage to live. The ones that don’t make it are those who lick other men’s leftovers, those who count on the doctors to pull them through, and those who squeal on their buddies.”-page 4
This advice along with Ivan’s own persistence is the reason he survived so long and succeeded where others failed.
Works Consulted:
Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. New York City: Signet Classic, 1963.